The State Service of Ukraine on Food Safety and Consumer Protection continues its comprehensive analysis of school catering systems. Specialists have evaluated operations across 567 general secondary education institutions where students in grades 1 through 11 receive free hot meals.

According to the Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine (MESU), hot meal services are currently organized in nearly 10,000 schools nationwide. Consequently, ensuring program funding must go hand in hand with on-site oversight regarding food safety, proper storage, culinary practices, and adherence to approved nutritional standards.

This evaluation is being conducted pursuant to directives from Prime Minister of Ukraine Serhiy Koretskyi. The primary objective for the State Service of Ukraine on Food Safety and Consumer Protection is to identify operational bottlenecks so that school administrators and municipal founders can rectify them swiftly and prevent future non-compliance.

Initial monitoring data indicates that roughly half of the audited schools fully comply with food safety legislation. However, deficiencies were documented in 293 institutions, requiring immediate corrective action by school authorities.

The most frequent violations involve maintaining required refrigeration temperatures, proper segregation during food storage, full implementation of HACCP principles, appropriate food waste management, staff hygiene training, and pest control measures. To ensure rigorous laboratory control, specialists have already collected 645 swab and raw material samples.

Sanitary compliance was evaluated as a separate metrics. Over 80% of inspected schools met established standards, though 104 facilities exhibited shortcomings. These included deviations from approved four-week seasonal menus, non-compliance with nutritional guidelines, improper staff hygiene, missing daily food samples or medical check records, and failure to follow standardized recipes.

Special attention is focused on the food actually served to children. The State Service of Ukraine on Food Safety and Consumer Protection has already reviewed 276 four-week seasonal menus, returning nine of them for revisions. Additionally, 707 samples of drinking water, ready-to-eat meals (for caloric value assessment), and facility surfaces were collected for laboratory testing.

As reported by the Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine, MESU and the State Service of Ukraine on Food Safety and Consumer Protection are maintaining real-time data exchange on identified issues and corrective measures. Regional branches of the Food Safety Service will process submitted school menus within two business days to expedite necessary adjustments.

Regional inspections remain ongoing. The next crucial phase involves eliminating identified defects and establishing preventive procedures to maintain high standards moving forward, ensuring that school cafeterias deliver safe, nutritious, and high-quality meals to all students.